Idiosyncrasies
by metro.max
Summary: Everyone has their own special quirks, their own idiosyncrasies. Katie Bell is a matchmaker. Oliver Wood is an observer. And Fred Weasley? Fred Weasley is an instigator.
1. Matchmaker

**Disclaimer:** It's all Jo's.

**Author's Notes: **Ah, another Katie/Oliver! This one is simple and untainted with dialogue, which is something I'm not the best at. It is as unromantic as it could get while still being in the romance catagory, and the ending is vague enough for me to make a second part. Yay!

So, if you would, please drop a **review**.

_Alisa_

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_**Matchmaker**_

Some people are just naturally good at some things.

For example, some people can look at the definition of a Shrinking Solution once and have it memorized. Other people can read their Transfiguration assignment and understand what to write about. Others can sit in a common room full of giggling first years and rowdy fifth years and still manage to complete a homework assignment. And still others have the rare and precious ability to listen to Professor Binns without falling asleep.

Unfortunately, Katie Bell has none of these abilities.

No, her rare and distinguishable ability, as she so fondly put it, is "complete rubbish and is in no way ever going to help me pass Charms unless Flitwick sets an assignment on who Cho Chang's going to end up with next." For you see, Katie Bell has a certain knack for choosing couples before they happen, and she is not happy with this gift at all.

She might have found it useful if she was the gossipy type, but she wasn't. And she might have found some practicality in it if she was a social butterfly, but the only flying she was good at was on a broomstick. She might have even noticed its uniqueness if she actually chose to share it with anybody, but deeming it a pointless ability (as if she really cared who Roger Davies would be snogging next week!), she never bothered to tell anyone.

All in all, Katie Bell thought she got short-changed.

That is why she was completely confused one night as she attempted to complete a History of Magic assignment of monumental size. For instead of scribbling away about goblin rebellions and facially-haired wizards, she was making a list (and on her History of Magic assignment as well!). All she knew was that one moment she had been looking up something on Uric the Oddball and had ended up writing Fred Weasley's name next to Angelina Johnson's.

Katie rolled her eyes and made to scribble it out when she paused. Now that she thought about it… Angelina and Fred were being oddly friendlier than was usual…. At least, it was a thought.

Katie put her quill to her lip. Maybe it would be a good idea to write her thoughts down, just to get it out of her system. After all, History of Magic wasn't all that difficult—just write about a few goblin rebellions led by oddly names goblins (it seemed as if the class ought to be renamed History of Goblins instead as that was all that Professor Binns seemed to discuss in it).

With a nod of her head Katie tore the small section at the top of the parchment that the heading of her essay was written on (she hadn't actually gotten to the essay part yet), crumpled it up, and lobbed it at the head of a first year, who started telling off the girl behind him. Smirking, she labeled the paper _Katie Bell as Matchmaker_ and began.

When she finished half an hour and two rolls of parchment later, Katie found herself grinning at the finished product. Some of the people she had paired up solely for her own amusement, but others she knew had real basis. Her list went as follows:

Katie Bell as Matchmaker

Fred Weasley and Angelina Johnson—you'd have to be think as a brick to miss it

George Weasley and Alicia Spinnet—wishful thinking on my part, I reckon

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley—I have a gut feeling with her

Harry's little mates Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger—they get quite cozy when Harry's not around

Cho Chang and Cedric Diggory—she always gets the handsome ones

Roger Davies and anything with legs—he goes through girls faster than we go through loo roll

Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall—hee hee

Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater—I swear I saw him crying over her Petrified body last year

Katie Bell and her dream bloke—because she can't seem to catch him when she's awake

Lee Jordan and some girl who wants him—because Angelina doesn't

Professor Snape and—oh, wait… never mind

Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson—they're evil enough for each other, I reckon

Marcus Flint and a log—because no girl would want him

Oliver Wood and ?

After rereading her list, Katie had to admit she was somewhat proud of it. While some of them were humorous (Professor McGonagall with Professor Dumbledore, for example), some (like her predictions for Roger Davies and Marcus Flint) she knew were true. And others (like Harry and Ginny) were gut feelings while some (Oliver Wood) she just couldn't place.

Setting her quill down, Katie yawned and stretched, reminiscent of a cat. It was getting late and she still had to start her History of Magic assignment. She dug in her bag, fully intending to pull out another roll of parchment for her essay, when she came up empty-handed. She had used up all of her parchment on that silly list.

Heaving a sigh, she forced herself out of her chair and up to her dormitory.

When she returned, it was twenty minutes later. Her dear friend Leanne had held her up when she asked for help on her Care of Magical Creatures assignment (but only in return for a roll of parchment). Now Katie was getting tired; she could feel a dull ache settling behind her eyes. Not to mention she could have finished her essay by now if she had just stuck to it in the first place.

Groaning, Katie dropped into her chair and opened her History of Magic book to the page on Uric the Oddball. With her quill loaded and hovering over the parchment, Katie noticed something.

Someone had written on her coupling predictions. Where the question mark by Oliver Wood's name had been now resided the name _Katie Bell_.


	2. Observer

**Disclaimer:** It's all Jo's.

**Author's Notes: **Part two! Mmm... I'm predicting another part for this. So stick around. And **review** while you're at it.

_Alisa_

**_Observer_**

Every person has their own special personality trait. A quirk, to say.

Some people bite their nails when they're nervous. Other people might doodle on whatever is nearest when they're bored. Others might have an odd snort they make whenever they laugh too much. And others still might actually pay attention in History of Magic.

Oliver Wood possessed none of these quirks.

No, his quirk was even more enlightening and educational. People who noticed his quirk also tended to describe it as "completely creepy. I just looked over there and he was staring at me. How odd is Oliver Wood?"

But Oliver's quirk was not staring at people. It was watching them; observing them; studying them. He liked to see what the people of the common room were up to.

He rather liked this quirk, he would say. It kept him updated on the Weasley twins, two people you couldn't afford not to be updated on. It kept him informed of the goings-on of Hogwarts. And most importantly, it kept him acutely aware of the status of each of his Quidditch players.

Tonight it was fairly easy to spot his team members. Harry Potter, the ruddy best Seeker in the entire school, seemed to be studying in front of the fire with two of his mates. The Weasley twins—his Beaters, and excellent at that—were clearly pestering two-thirds of his Chasers, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet, who, from the looks of it, were attempting to finish off some assignment (and failing horridly, he noted). Katie Bell, the third of his Chasers, was working, from what it looked like, on her History of Magic only two lopsided tables from where he was sitting. The last member of his Quidditch team—himself, of course—was spending his time engaging in his favorite quirk.

Tonight he was watching Katie Bell. A nice girl, he thought, and a ruddy excellent Chaser at that. Her left hoop shot, and the ways she pulls off a Reverse Pass—bleeding brilliant.

Oliver shook his head. He had a habit of doing that—whenever he thought of Katie Bell he automatically thought of Quidditch. He had also taken to watching her at night sometimes, if only to rid himself of that habit. He didn't like to think of her in a Quidditch-only mindset. She was his friend, after all, not only a Quidditch player (albeit an amazing one).

So as Oliver folded his arms across his chest and settled his gaze on Katie, he told himself he would steer clear of Quidditch thoughts for the night (he shuddered at the thought). Instead, he would make a mental list of all the things he liked about Katie Bell that did not pertain to Quidditch.

He stared at Katie for some time—fifteen minutes, maybe—when he realized he hadn't added a single thing to his list. Not a thing. Certainly he wasn't only friends with Katie because she played Quidditch?

Oliver shook his head. Of course not. There were many things he liked about Katie, he just wasn't concentrating enough. That was one thing, though, he noted. He liked the fact that he could just look at (not observe, not study) Katie Bell and not actually think anything. Just stare at her.

And her hair. He liked to stare at her hair. It was long and shiny and held in a pony, and Oliver decided it would be very soft if he was to touch it. Yes, he liked Katie's hair as well.

And while he was at it, Oliver noticed how lovely her eyes were. He wasn't even quite sure what color they were, but he knew it didn't matter because they were lovely eyes anyway. But knowing the color would make them all the more lovely, he concluded, and decided to look very carefully the next time he spoke to Katie.

Oliver watched as Katie scribbled something out on her parchment and reached for a new roll. Her second this evening. Surely her assignment wasn't that long? But as Katie let out a short burst of laughter, Oliver realized she couldn't be working on History of Magic; no one ever laughed at History of Magic.

Which made Oliver realize another thing he liked about Katie—her laugh. It was bubbly like a fountain and made her shoulders shake and her head bob and her eyes squeeze shut. Oliver tried to rub away the little goosebumps that prickled his skin from the inside out and made him shiver pleasurably. Yes, he most certainly liked Katie's laughter, and the goosebumps that came with it.

And her shape. She wasn't like Angelina, who was tall and well-built and suited for the Chaser position. She wasn't like Alicia, with petite limbs and a shapely body. She was just… Katie. Strong arms, skinny, stick-y legs, a tummy she complained about but didn't have… they all seemed so suited to her, so… Katie-ish. Oliver decided that he liked her Katie-ish-ness. It was nice. It made her pretty.

That sudden thought hit Oliver like a Bludger to the head. Katie, pretty? Did he really think Katie was pretty?

Yes, he admitted, amused. He did think Katie (her hair, her eyes, her skinny legs, all of it) was pretty. And her laugh. It made her especially pretty.

Oliver shook off his sudden realization as Katie leaned back and read her paper with eager (_pretty_) eyes. She smiled (Oliver noticed how much he liked that too, it reminded him of her laugh), set her parchment down, and dug in her bag. It seemed she couldn't find whatever she was looking for as she had sighed and marched up to her dormitory.

Oliver was thinking about how Katie liked ketchup on her eggs (and wondering when she'd get back) when he noticed Fred wander over to her table. The Weasley picked up her parchment, read it (he made an 'o' with his mouth at the beginning), cast a glance around the room, and settled in her chair. He took her quill, scribbled something near the bottom, and left, smirking. Oliver was just wondering with himself if he ought to go and see what Fred had written when he noticed Katie walking purposefully back to her table.

She dropped a roll of parchment down, flopped into her chair, and opened her textbook. Once she had prepared her quill to write, she noticed something. She looked up, searched the common room with her eyes, and found him.

She stared at him with a faint smile on her face, as if she was seeing him but not quite seeing him.

Oliver decided he liked that about Katie too.


	3. Instigator

**Disclaimer: **It's all Jo's.

**Author's Notes:** Ah, the last piece of the puzzle. This was sort of sweet, wasn't it? I have no idea where I got the idea from... but anyway, please drop a **review** and let me know what you think.

_Alisa_

**_Instigator_**

Normally Fred Weasley wouldn't give a flying niffler's snout about romance, but not today. For today was the day he would finally get revenge on one Miss Katie Bell for all the countless hours of teasing him about Angelina Johnson. Today he would get his vengeance.

Of course, at the present time he had no idea that in half an hour and a bit he would be writing two simple words that would take vengeance for all the playful mocking Katie had ever done. And he would be quite proud of it, to boot.

At the current moment, though, Fred Weasley was doing one of the things that he did best: pestering Angelina Johnson. She and Alicia Spinnet were trying to finish up their Charms together and were doing an awful job. It may have merely been for the fact that he and his brother George were disturbing them, but he didn't want too much credit on his brother and himself and instead entertained the idea that some of the blame lay with the girls' inability to concentrate on the task at hand. But really, how could they, when they had the Weasley twins instead to entertain them?

It was just as he had levitated Angelina's Charms book across the classroom when he noticed it. It, as this time, being Oliver Wood—but not _just_ Oliver Wood—this was Oliver Wood, staring at Katie Bell, again. For the fourth time this week, in fact, and Fred had caught him at it each time.

It was sort of a funny thought. Not untouched, but not prodded at enough to be considered familiar to him. Just sort of funny, the idea of Oliver Wood (his Quidditch Captain and—though he jestingly denied it—friend) fancying Katie Bell (like little sister lost unruffled attitude, and a ruddy excellent Chaser if he ever saw one). It was one of those thoughts that gets pushed to the back of the mind until you should be thinking anything but it, then pops up like a not-really-a-friend friend who consumes your time in unjust amounts.

It gave him a sort of funny feeling he wasn't very sure about. He couldn't tell if he was happy at the thought, or upset. It was, he noticed, the same feeling he had for Ginny's crush on Harry Potter. He was over-protective of his little sister and wanted only the best for her, but he also knew that Harry considered the Weasleys a surrogate family and would never do something to hurt one of their numbers. Oliver was a Harry to Fred, and he didn't want Katie hurt any more than he did Ginny. It left him with a sort of queasiness in the pit of his stomach that didn't go unnoticed by Fred.

Nor, apparently, by George, who inquired what was wrong. Just a bit of a stomach ache, Fred passed it off as, and the flirty mood among the four teenagers evaporated, though Fred really hadn't hoped for any less. He pulled his own Charms homework to himself and his twin did the same.

Once the other three had settled themselves behind reference books and stacks of parchment, Fred turned his gaze over to wide-eyed, skinny-legged, long-fingered Katie Bell, who was hunched over her own roll of parchment, books scattered around her. His eyes shifted over to Oliver Wood (Quaffle-blocking, Quidditch-obsessed, five-foot-short-inches Oliver Wood), who was staring openly at Katie, seemingly unnoticed by the girl. Wood hadn't even bothered to take a textbook out of his bag and had his arms folded across his chest, making no sign of movement.

For the fourth time, Fred reminded himself, the fourth time he'd caught Oliver watching Katie work in the common room. If he didn't fancy her, what other explanation could there be? That Oliver just liked to watch Katie scribble away at her parchment? Of course, sure, Oliver _could_ fancy Katie. Why not? Knows more than she ought to about Quidditch, isn't that bad to look at (for all her wide-eyed-skinny-legged-long-fingered-ness, he reckoned), funny in a not-so-sarcastic way… sure, why not then? Oliver could fancy Katie if he wanted to. Fred certainly wasn't going to stop him.

What about Katie, though?

The friend-who's-not-a-friend thought popped into his mind, and Fred shook his head, as if trying to dislodge it. But of course, now that the thought was planted there, little to none could remove it. So he decided to entertain it, and began to draw a crude Beater's bat on the corner of his Charms essay.

So, did Katie fancy Oliver? Sure as he knew how to Transfigure into an elephant, she did (for all that he knew, of course). And really, how _was_ he supposed to know? He didn't spend hours at a time evaluating other people's emotions like girls did. (And Merlin knows why they do that in the first place.) He could always ask her, he supposed, and risk her blowing up in his face or bursting into tears or storming off in a towering rage. None of those options sounded particularly good at the moment, so he decided to hold back on such a direct approach.

Perhaps he should hint at it, see if she could pick up the clues? But that didn't sound very promising, as she would most likely end up thinking he fancied her, and _then_ he would have a situation on his hands.

It was during this time that he noticed that Katie was no longer at her table, though her bag and books still were. Giving it no more than a single thought (hope no one notices I've gone), Fred got up and marched over to Katie's table (George, Angelina, and Alicia all watched him go with nonplussed expressions). Once there, he picked up a parchment that ended up not being an assignment, but Katie playing matchmaker.

As Fred's eyes scanned the beginning (and spotted his name with Angelina's), he made a small face of surprise. Even unconsciously she was able to mock him! Sitting down, he dipped her quill in the ink bottle and spotted Oliver's name at the bottom of the list, (thankfully) with no one's name next to it.

Fred quickly scribbled Katie's name next to Oliver's, thought about adding a heart, and decided that it would be too much. Instead, he headed back to his unfinished Charms, smirking.

Only a few minutes later (and Fred knew Oliver had watched him since he had scribbled those two words out), Katie returned to the common room with a roll of parchment and a tired expression. She dropped into her chair, opened her textbook (History of Magic, Fred had noticed with disgust), and loaded her quill before she noticed his alterations.

Her head shot up, she spotted Oliver, and smiled faintly at him. He smiled back, unaware of what was soon to come.

Fred—and now George, Angelina, and Alicia too—watched with mild interest as Katie strode over to Oliver, grinned broadly at him, and placed a little kiss on his mouth, which Fred noted was opened rather stupidly. She pulled back and grinned uncertainly.

After what seemed like the longest five seconds of his life, Fred watched with a lick of satisfaction as Oliver gave Katie a tentative kiss back. Turning back to his three table-mates, Fred grinned along with them as they (Angelina and Alicia, more specifically) alternatively watched the two kissing and giggled about it.

Fred, though this wasn't exactly the revenge he had planned, was sure enough teasing was in order to make up for it. And besides, this made him feel sort of proud, to boot.

**FIN.**


End file.
